It may be an N series handset, but the N97 carves a new space in the otherwise blurred realm between smartphone and laptop - a product built on a foundation of rock solid mobile principles, Nokia innovations, and tangible new technologies, pushed to the extreme and embodied in a slimline pocket shell.

Just as the original N95 re-shaped our perceptions of what's possible with a mobile device, the N97 again raises the bar beyond the reach of its peers by equipping us with a product that fuses the best proven Nokia hardware, software and Internet services, blended with a new flavour of design, ergonomics and usability.

The most physically immediate stand-out feature of the N97 is its kick-out full QWERTY keyboard, hidden behind a 3.5-inch widescreen 16:9 touch display that tilts smartly above the keys. Both control methods neatly coexist and are tailored to ensure every experience, be it messaging, social, entertainment-focussed or otherwise, are manageable via the most instinctive physical toolset available. The touchscreen promises to be exploited to full effect, even when inactive, courtesy of a new homescreen that automatically sucks in live information via custom widgets sat on a S60 5th Edition backbone.

The N97 enters the fray stomaching 32GB of on-board storage, double that of any mobile device currently in existence, and can take up to another 16GB via microSD, enabling it to become a portable multi-media computer with 48GB in your pocket. Of course Nokia wants you to abuse this space with music, movies, photos and N-Gage games, and as such has worked hard to ensure the N97's battery is up to the task - it promises to kick out up to 37 hours of music and 4.5 hours of video.

Embracing location based services and the concept of context awareness, the N97 is location-savvy, automatically sensing where it is at any given time via A-GPS. The benefit being that you'll be able to tap into local services with ease and share your social location with friends minus any extra fiddling or fuss.

Nokia Maps:Nokia Maps Brings the world to your N97. See maps for over 150 countries and search for addresses, points of interest, or landmarks around the globe. Go deeper and find addresses, phone numbers and other details for available destinations, and let the N97 plan your journey from A to B.

Carl Zeiss Optics:Carl Zeiss is a world leader in high quality camera lenses. These state of the art Carl Zeiss Optics are featured in the N97, ensuring the best possible photo and video quality.

Nokia Web Browser:View web pages as they were originally intended. With a single key press Nokia Web browser with Mini Map lets you zoom out to a full screen view of the entire web page. Find the section you want and then zoom in to the content you want. The text instantly adjusts to the size of your screen. the web browser also keeps a history of your browsing so you can quickly get back to where you started.

Note to nokia, "THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU MAKE BEFORE YOU RELEASE IT".. Get it right first time rather than putting a warning in the box advising that the phone will randomly shut down.

Good deal all the same. (shame it isnt for a phone that is Superb)

21st Jul 2009

£320 on three PAYG, instore only from what I can see

21st Jul 2009

this is a great phone...had mine over 1 weeks..no problem at all...

21st Jul 2009

I've had mine since Friday and already the handset is being replaced by Three as it refuses to run their version of Skype! Also, if you get it from Three, you won't be able to upgrade to the latest software release for a while yet, as they have not allowed the upgrade, unlike other operators.

This phone could have been so much better than it is. It is nice, but it's not what I'd been hoping for.